Numerous recent studies in the area of animal learning and a few studies dealing with human learning and memory have demonstrated seemingly potent effects of adrenocorticosteroids on the acquisition and extinction of a variety of learning tasks. To date only a few studies have been conducted to evaluate the ACTH portion of this effect in humans and, until recently, none have examined the role of glucocorticosteroids. Preliminary results of studies currently being conducted by the principal investigator and his colleagues suggest the existence of steroid mediated changes in the learning and memory capabilities of humans in both verbal and visual modalities. Exogenous manipulation of the normal ACTH-corticosteroid relationship in individuals not requiring steroid medication presents strong ethical reservations. Thus the feasibility of investigating ACTH and corticosteroid effects in humans resides in examining a population dependent on one of these substances for therapeutic purposes. The potential for intellectual side effects of glucocorticosteroids on patient populations being maintained on the large doses needed to attain desired clinical effects presents cause for great concern. The evaluation of this question becomes even more crucial when the therapeutic regimen is applied to children, since they are in their most important years of psychological and intellectual development. The existence of steroid-mediated learning and memory difficulties even of a transient nature occurring during this time could lead to the development of more permanent functional difficulties. We propose to study the joint effects of exogenously-produced glucocorticosteroid and ACTH variation on learning and memory in asthmatic children. The long-term goal of the proposed research program includes the identification of the specific areas of the learning process which may be affected, and the investigation of the reversibility of the iatrogenically-mediated learning and/or memory deficits so that remedial programs may be specified. To these ends we will examine exogenously-administrated corticosteroid effects on a number of standard learning and memory functions in both visual and verbal modalities. Differences in administered corticosteroid dose per unit time in conjunction with the post-medication time of testing will provide the desired systemic relationship of cortisol and ACTH levels. Verification of this manipulation will be made via plasma analyses of cortisol and ACTH levels.